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Newtown. Aurora. Tucson. These three shootings, at an elementary school in Connecticut, at a movie theater in Colorado and at a constituent meeting in Arizona, are just a few examples of the mass shootings that have captured the media’s attention in the past few years. While the shootings have sparked discussions on gun violence in this country, they have also led to conversations about the intersection of gun violence prevention and mental illness. In each of these cases, mental illness was at one point or another discussed as a potential cause of the violent crimes committed in these three towns. Whether the shooters in these attacks were mentally ill or not does not impact the importance of keeping guns out of the hands of people with mental illness. Moreover, the focus on gun violence and mental health can be limiting.

December 14, 2014 marks the second anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In 2012, 20 school children and 6 teachers were shot in the single deadliest shooting since Virginia Tech in 2007.  After the Newtown shooting, the Reform Movement once again joined with the interfaith community and renewed our long-standing efforts to support gun violence prevention legislation, and provide resources and prayer services for our communities for healing. We worked tirelessly on the Manchin-Toomey bipartisan bill that proposed universal background checks for gun purchasing we were deeply saddened when Congress failed to pass that important legislation.

One out of three women worldwide will be physically, sexually, or otherwise abused during her lifetime. In some countries, it’s as many as seven in ten. Violence against women is a human rights violation that devastates lives, fractures communities and prevents women from fully contributing to the economic development of their countries. Take a minute to think about the things we do every day: go to work, go to school, provide food for ourselves and for our families. We generally do not equate these tasks with putting ourselves in danger. But, that’s not the case everywhere. Often, the perpetrators of violence against women and girls commit that violence while women are on their way to work or to collect food and water, or while girls are on their way to school—that is, if they are allowed to go to school at all.

In response to the attack that happened at B'nei Torah Kehillat Yaakov synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem, the leaders of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) and the American Conference of Cantors (ACC) released the following statements: Reform Movement Condemns Brutal Attack at Jerusalem Synagogue, from URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs "The Reform Movement is appalled at the horrific and gruesome attack of worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem early this morning. Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrendous attack and we insist the perpetrators be condemned and held responsible. Such violence on innocent people in their place of worship is an affront to all humanity. Israeli and Palestinian leaders must work together to de-escalate the growing violence in the region, particularly in the holy city of Jerusalem. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims taken from us this morning in Jerusalem. May the Holy One comfort these families among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."

Today, we remember: Brittany Stergis, shot dead in her car in Cleveland, OH on December 5, 2013. Kanday Hall, murdered and found in a field, in Baltimore, MD on June 3, 2014. Aniya Oarker shot in the head in East Hollywood, CA on October 3, 2014. Today, we remember. We remember these three individuals who were murdered in anti-transgender violence. And we remember the many other victims of anti-transgender violence this past year whose lives were ended too soon. And we remember that despite increased societal acceptance of transgender individuals, anti-transgender violence is still widespread.

The crisis at the United States’ southern border, caused by violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle region, has quieted since this summer. The gang violence there still rages on, but due to seasonal factors, the number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum has dropped sharply. After Congress failed to give the governmental organizations stretched by the crisis any additional funding, the slowdown in new arrivals has allowed the House and the Senate to avoid another round of funding debates that would likely end in stalemate.